Samsung, Nokia, Sony and LG eclipse the first day of the 2018 Mobile World Congress

A number of new smart phones have been released on the first day of the 2018 Mobile World Congress (MWC) that officially kicked off in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday.

Tech-facts bringing us to speed reveal 5G technology is taking an increasing share of the spotlight, as top executives stress the importance of the next generation of mobile networks.

HMD Global steadily takes on the Smartphone market with the “Banana Phone” as Samsung’s widely anticipated S9 redefines the Galaxy.

Nile Tech takes a look at the smartphones unveiled at MWC.

Nokia 8 Sirocco & The Banana

HMD Global revealed a number of smartphones and showed intent to compete with high-end brands such as Samsung and Apple.

Nokia unveiled the Nokia 8 Sirocco for the High-end market. The Sirocco runs on Android and boasts a 5.5-inch curved display, plus, a dual camera and wireless charging capabilities. The phone will be released in April.

It’s become Nokia’s habit to reincarnate some of its past feature phones and this time, the Nokia 8110, also known also the “Banana Phone” made its way back to the market.

Popularized by 1999 science fiction movie, “The Matrix”, the Banana comes after the recent return of the Nokia 3310.

The Banana, Nokia 8110, will be either black or yellow in color,  running on Linux-based Kai OS — which is adding Facebook, Google and Twitter apps — and can connect to a 4G network. It will be available in May.

SAMSUNG Galaxy S9 & S9+

The Galaxy S9 sticks to the design of the Galaxy S8, boasting the same 5.8in QHD+ Super AMOLED screen with 570ppi and an 18:5:9 ratio.

The new model actually is half a millimeter thicker at 8.5mm and weighs almost 10g more at 163g as compared to the S8 and S8+ but has the same IP68 waterproofing.

The S9 is powered by a 10nm Exynos 64-bit octa-core CPU but with a slightly faster 2.7GHz and 1.7GHz processing speeds (compared to the S8's 2.3GHz). RAM remains at 4GB.

The Internal memory is at 64GB but can be upgraded to 400GB with a microSD card, powered by a 3,000mAh battery.

The plus side as usual takes a slightly better upgrade with a 10nm 64-bit octa-core processor running at 2.8GHz and 1.7GHz inside, with a better memory of 6GB and double internal storage of 128GB.

The plus’s display is also bigger a 6.2in QHD+ curved super AMOLED screen, with the same wide 18:5:9 ratio as the Galaxy S8+, but lower pixel density of 529ppi. It has a bigger 3,500mAh battery. Both devices, run the latest edition of Android 8.0 Oreo.

What can Samsung do without the Camera? Samsung revealed that one of the biggest improvements in the devices come in the form of new and improved camera and image sensors. While the Galaxy S9 retains its single-lens 12MP Dual Pixel camera with OIS, the Galaxy S9+ packs a dual 12MP set-up on its rear, comprising of wide angle and telephoto lenses.

The cameras on both phones come with a dual aperture of f/1.5 and f/2.4, Samsung claiming the smartphones are the first to do so, and says the feature will deliver "the brightest lens of any smartphone camera in the market".

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are expected to be available from 16 March from Samsung.com and select retailers. They will launch in Midnight Black, Coral Blue and a new hue, Lilac Purple color options.

LG V30S ThinQ

In 2016, LG launched the LG G5 modular flagship followed by the LG G6, in 2017, which was among the first phones with an almost bezel-free display.

This year, the Company unveiled the LG V30S ThinQ, funny name it is, isn’t it?

The V30S retains the exact same design as the V30, the same dual-camera system, the same 18:9 display, same 3,300mAh battery, and same Snapdragon 835 processor.

The only upgrades are to memory, with the V30S stepping up from 4GB of RAM to 6GB, and from a choice between 64GB or 128GB of storage to a 128GB or 256GB selection.

Nothing much is not the same between this year’s and last years, their biggest launch at this year’s MWC is a software update. The LG V30S ThinQ will also go on sale later in March.